


Too Many Baubles

by kickcows



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 23:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13492554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickcows/pseuds/kickcows
Summary: Prompto never falls in battle, and doesn’t understand why. He sees his friends fall repeatedly, but he’s saved from those, all because of careful planning, unbeknownst to him.





	Too Many Baubles

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt - Status Ailment 
> 
> Here is my fifth entry for Promnis Week! Cross posted from my [tumblr](http://heartlessfujoshi.tumblr.com/post/170150796682/title-too-many-baubles-fandom-ffxv-pairing). Please enjoy!

* * *

Prompto stares in shock, as he sees two of his four friends become petrified because of a daemon that’s decided to manifest just a little ways out from their camp in Alstor Slough. He tries not to panic, but with Noctis warp-striking to kill the creatures while both Gladio and Ignis are turned to stone, he knows he’s got to act fast. He doesn’t want to become a victim either, leaving the Prince to kills the daemons on his own. The learning curve between what he’d learned in training, versus what he has to do in the field is high, and sometimes he panics. Like right now.

“Gladio! Iggy!” He screams, checking his pockets to see if he might have something that might cure him. “Noct! Noct, what do I do??” He shouts to his friend, as he sees him take down one creature. Lifting his arm up, he shuts one eye, and aims true, hitting the other daemon, giving it a little bit of damage.  

A blue iridescent outline of his best friend appears by his side, as he sees Noctis hanging high up above them. “They’ll come out of it in a moment!” Noctis shouts down at him, before warp-striking directly into the half-spider, half-grotesque woman shoots more lightning at them, Prompto rolling to avoid another direct hit.

As if on cue, he sees Ignis come out of it first, the look of rage on his face one that he doesn’t think he’ll forget. Seeing him charge towards the daemon, he keeps his gun drawn, shooting when he can, but tries not to hit his friends, as Gladio as come out of it as well. With all four of them fighting as a unit, it doesn’t take too long to bring the daemons down, and soon as the fight is over, he claps his hands, pleased that they all survived.

They head back to camp, and he can see that Ignis is still a little upset. He watches Noctis and Gladio head into the tent, but then sees Ignis sit in one of the chairs by the fire. Testing the waters, he goes and sits with his chocobo, who warbles and kwehs at him. He looks over at Ignis, and sees him staring into the fire, a pensive look on his face.

Clearing his throat, he sees Ignis look over at him. “Hey, um…what happened back there? And why didn’t it happen to me?”

“Do you have that necklace that I gave to you back in Lestallum?” Ignis asks, placing his arm on the chair, resting his head against his palm. “The one with the hourglass?”

Reaching under his shirt, he pulls it up, and shows it to him. “You said to never take it off. And I’ve got the stone in my pocket.” He digs into his right pocket, and pulls out a stone the color of dirt to rest in his hand. “And that weird nut.” He holds up his necklace to show both the hour glass and nut sitting next to it.

“Where’s your ribbon?”

He slides some of his bracelets down towards his wrist, showing the ribbon that Ignis had given to him after they’d traded in a bunch of Oracle coins. “It doesn’t come off. Just like you told me. But why?”

“All of those baubles protect you. If one of us falls, those will keep you safe. The ribbon does double duty, but I’d rather you keep everything on you.” Ignis sits back in his chair, and pulls his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. “I got distracted tonight. It should have been an easy fight.”

“Why don’t you wear a ribbon?” Prompto asks, returning his bracelets to their proper place on his arm.

Ignis rubs his eyes more, then puts his glasses back on. “They are rare, and the Prince determined that you would benefit the most from wearing it.”

“Because I’m the weakest link.” He sighs, and pets his rented chocobo’s beak, a soft  _kweh_  doing little to help his feel better about himself. “Got it. Then, I’ll try and charge first into battle when daemons like that appear.”

“No, that would not be wise.” The man he feels like he’s always trying to please shakes his head. “Just keep doing what you’re doing, and we should be okay. You’ve gotten a lot better since the beginning of our journey.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have the training you have.” Prompto stands up, and starts to walk to the tent. “I’m trying, Iggy. I really am.”

He hears him sigh. “I know you are, Prompto. I know that it’s different when faced with a foe, than doing a practice drill. Wait a moment?”

His hand is stretched out to push the flap of the tent to the side, but then stops when he hears Ignis’ request. “What is it? I don’t need another lecture. I should never have asked what happened to the two of you. I would have figured it out eventually.”

“My apologies, Prompto. I’m not trying to lecture you.” Ignis stands up, and walks over to where he’s standing. “You are doing very well out here. I mean that sincerely.” His breath catches, as he feels Ignis’ hand touch his shoulder. “We are lucky to have someone that is such a quick study to help watch our backs.”

“Some good that did. I couldn’t protect you guys today.” He whispers, overcome with emotion. Taking a deep breath, he feels the hand on his shoulder give him a reassuring pat.

“You did as Cor taught you to do. And that would make him very happy.” The hand on his shoulder disappears, but the heat it leaves behind remains. “Come on, let’s get to bed. We will worry about the next attack tomorrow. No sense in wasting more time on it now.”

Prompto grunts, and gives a sharp nod of his head before heading into the tent. He sees Noctis laying on his stomach, playing King’s Knight on his phone, with Gladio stretched out, reading one of his many novels. He pulls his own phone out of his pocket, and lays on his back next to his best friend, who looks over at him and gives a nod of his head, quickly joining his game after it loads.

He doesn’t bother bringing up their fight, and instead forgets all about it in favor of running a virtual boss fight with his best friend. He’ll worry about the next possible daemon encounter tomorrow, as he knows another one is bound to happen sooner rather than later.

***

Things seem to progress well for Prompto. The more they fight, the more he begins to realize his role amongst his friends. He’s there more or less to assist, Noctis taking the brunt of what happens to their group. But the ribbon he wears doesn’t doesn’t protect him from everything, as he finds out after a fight with some high level Magitek.

The fight spirals out of their control, as wave after wave pummel them, and he fails at being able to avoid being attacked. He falls down, breathing becoming more of a difficult challenge, his eyesight beginning to fade as it becomes more of a struggle to breathe.   
  
“PROMPTO!” The sound of Ignis shouting his name sounds like it’s coming from underwater, and he tries to open his mouth to say something, but all he can do is close his eyes, daemons now fighting them along with the Magitek soldiers. “PROMPTO, NO!”

Something is pushed into his hand, and is made to make a fist around the object. He hears it crackle, and feels heat spread over his entire body, as whatever had been put into his hand makes him feel better, the pain that had been there long gone. He jumps up, and sees that whatever he’d been given is still working throughout his system, his skin looking like it’s on fire. He doesn’t think twice about it, and rejoins the fray, helping to finish the Magitek, and then the Iron Giant and goblins that had popped up during the chaos.

Everything feels more vivid than it did prior to the fight, and he has to wonder if it’s because whatever was put into his hand. They choose to stay at a motel that night, getting two rooms for the evening. He decides to share a room with Ignis, because he wants to ask him some questions, questions that he’s not really sure he’s comfortable asking Noctis about. And since Ignis seems to be someone he can talk to, he decides that now would be a good opportunity to do so.

After showering and getting ready for bed, he lays down under the covers, sleeping on the bed closest to the door, as Ignis takes the bed closest to the bathroom. Once they’re both settled in, he turns on his side to look over at him. “Hey, Iggy? You still awake?” 

“I am.” Ignis turns over, the two of them looking across at one another. “Something on your mind, Prompto?”

“Today….” He nods his head, but doesn’t waver his eye contact. “Were you the one to give me something?”

“I was.” The Royal Adviser pulls on his blanket, bringing it up closer to his chin. “Were you aware of what I had given to you?”

“No, but I heard you scream.” Prompto can still feel the way whatever had been given to him spreading throughout his system. “You screamed my name, didn’t you? What did you give me?”

“Do you know what a Phoenix Down is?”

His heart stops at the question. “Did I….Was I that close to death?”

“I didn’t want to risk it.” His eyes grow wide, as he sees Ignis get out of his bed, and crosses the gap to join him on his. He scoots back, giving Ignis room on his bed. But the man moves even closer to him, and wraps his arms around him. “I couldn’t let you perish in such a way. Not when I knew how to keep you safe.”

The confession makes his heart stop in his chest, tears springing to his eyes as he hears the words repeated in his mind. Ignis didn’t want him to die. He saved him on purpose. “W-Why don’t I have something that can prevent that from happening?”

“You do, when it only works when an attempt is made on your life point blank.” Ignis’ arms feel strong around his body, the smell of soap clinging to his body, having showered before going to bed. “That bit you wear?” Prompto nods his head, glancing down at the necklace he never takes off. “That prevents you from dying in one hit. But, since we were annoyed by wave after wave, you suffered. And because of that, I chose to use a Phoenix Down on you, knowing that I could not allow you to die - not in such a way that can easily be remedied.”

Resting his head against the crook of Ignis’ neck, he tilts his head to look up at him. “Would you have been sad if I had died trying to protect our Prince?”

“I would have been  _devastated_ , Prompto.” Ignis does not hold back with his feelings, surprising the blond. “Have you not figured it out?”

“Figured what out?” He has no idea what Ignis is referring to, wondering if he’d been made to use this Phoenix Down before, and just couldn’t remember because he was so close to the brink of death. Deciding he doesn’t want to know, he prepares himself for Ignis’ answer.

Two fingers touch underneath his chin, lifting his head up so that he can get lost in a sea of blue eyes. “I care for you, Prompto. I care for you a lot.” Ignis’ words are impassioned, the way he speaks with such clarity makes Prompto’s heartbeat a little quicker in his chest. “So much that I have  _always_  got my eyes on you, when it’s my duty to make sure the Prince is protected first and foremost.”

“You can’t let the Prince die because you’re worried about me.” Just hearing the confession makes him feel like none of this his happening, that he’s dead and this is a result of his death. “He’s more important than any of us!”

“I am very well aware of just how important Noctis is to us, and to our kingdom.” The smile on Ignis’ lips makes his stomach start to flip. Those roller coaster feels, where he catches some airtime heading down a steep him, which equates to how he felt when Ignis tells him just how he feels. “But, he can take care of himself.”

“I can take care of myself too!”

“You’ve only scratched the surface of training, compared to the three of us!” He can hear the worry begin to return to the man’s voice. “Please - I know that Noctis is fine, and can handle his own. Gladio is also his sworn protector, which means I can keep my eye on you more than I would be able to if Gladio didn’t have the same training as me.”

“So, what you’re saying is I have no reason to fear dying? Because you’ll make sure that I don’t die?”

“Exactly.” Ignis nods his head, his hand stroking Prompto’s cheek, making his eyelids flutter closed. “I will make sure that nothing bad ever happens to you. Not on this trip. Not ever, if I can help it.”

“I don’t deserve that kind of treatment.” It’s true - it’s how he feels. He knows he doesn’t deserve half the stuff he gets to experience on their day to day journey. “I’m just Noctis’ best friend.”

“Oh, my dear sweet Prompto.” Ignis’ hand cradles the back of his head, fingers returning to his chin as he tilts his head back. “I wish that you could see just how special you are to all of us. So please know that no matter the circumstance, if I can help it - you will never have to worry about being lost in the field. Do you understand?”

He nods his head, eyes staying closed as he feels the warmth of someone else’s breath on his lips “I’m important too.”

“And if you wear all of the items we all decided would be best for you, then you know you have nothing to worry about.” Ignis lowers his head, the two of them sharing a space barely a centimeter apart. “Prompto…?”

“Yes…?” He keeps his voice soft, afraid that if he speaks too loud that whatever spell has been cast in their room will be broken. “What is it, Ignis?”

“Do you know that I like you?” He lifts his head in shock, mouth dropping open in surprise. He hears Ignis chuckle, feeling slightly stupid by his reaction. “That’s why I want to keep you safe, because I like your presence.”

“Is that really the truth?” Prompto wants to believe it, but for someone to flat out admit something like this to him, and to be sharing a bed with them, it feels a little too perfect. “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Tomorrow, we’re set to go to a dungeon that I know will have some high level daemons in it. Know that if you fall, I will be there to pick you back up, with a curative, or a Phoenix Down if necessary. Then, you will know just how much I care about you.”

“There’s also another way that I could tell all of these things, Iggy.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“If you kiss me?”

It’s the permission that it seems the Royal Adviser had been waiting for, as Prompto’s breath gets stolen away by him, their mouths coming together like two magnets. The bed that they’re suddenly sharing feels a lot larger than it had a half hour ago, as the two of them become acquainted with one another. Ignis pulls away first, a displeased hum leaving his own throat, but he’s quick to put a smile on his face.

“We’ll kiss more in a bit. For now, please let me hold you? I thought for sure today I had lost you.” The sadness in his voice makes Prompto’s stomach flip again. “I really don’t know what I would do if you weren’t around, Prompto.”

“I’m glad that I’m not expendable.” He giggles a little, then tilts his head up and steals a kiss from Ignis, who returns it with a soft moan. “You’ll keep me safe?”

“For as long as I am needed.” Ignis nods his head, then presses another kiss to his lips. “We should get some rest.”

“You should kiss me a few more times.” He curls down in the bed, smiling as he sees the incredulous look on Ignis’ face. “Please?”

“Much better.” The look disappears, replaced by one that Prompto can only describe as being the face of a person in love. “Pucker up, Prompto.”

He does as told, and soon finds himself in a heavy makeout session with the one person he never imagined he would be kissing like this. After a few more intense kisses, he snuggles close to Ignis’ body, hoping that the man will stay next to him throughout the evening.

“I appreciate everything you do for me, Iggy.” He breaks the silence with a slightly out of breath speech. “From the pendants that save me from experiencing the horrors that the three of you seem to get into it - it really means a lot to me. So, thanks.” He lifts his head, and kisses Ignis on the lips. “Good night, Iggy.”

“Good night, Prompto. May your dreams be filled with happy memories, and do not dwell on what we just experienced together as a group.” Ignis whispers near his ear.

He trusts him, and knows that Ignis is speaking the truth. He has no reason to worry when heading into battle, not when he knows that Ignis will be there to assist him. It’s going to be a long journey to Altissia, but with the help of his friends - and one a little bit more than just a friend - Prompto knows that it will all be okay. The fates will look out for them, and their Prince.


End file.
